KUALA LUMPUR: Prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can pose serious health risks beyond respiratory problems, particularly among vulnerable groups.
Malaysian Environmental Health Practitioners Association chairman Prof Dr Jamal Hisham Hashim said a 2024 study in The Lancet Planetary Health found that about a million premature deaths globally each year were attributable to short-term exposure to PM2.5 lasting several hours to days.
He said PM2.5, produced by combustion processes, was small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs and reach the alveolar region where gas exchange occurs.
"This represents 2.08 per cent of the total annual global deaths between 2000 and 2019.
"The country with the higher percentage of global deaths attributable to PM2.5 was China with 3.2 per cent of global deaths in 2019."
